Wilderness Edits and The Dark...Print News!

I haven't meant to be negligent and leave you hanging, waiting for whatever's next here.  Another excursion to the AlternaWorld, or simply some rambling.  But, you see, as a writer, there are times we actually have to, how do I put this?  Yeah, Write! As in, my second novel, The Wilderness Within--great title, perhaps I'll use it elsewhere [he said, eyes rolling upward in their sockets, whistling like the imp he occasionally is] [imp? What the...?]--needed some...tweaking. Because, well, there's this thing that my agent/editor mentioned to me that made her crazy.  Oh, don't get me wrong, she Loves the writing, the novels and stories, but...but...

I kinda like my semi-colons. 

So, toned down some of those, as well as dashes and some full-grown colons, too.  And in the process, I realized something seemed...funky.

There was stuff I know, I just know, I edited out a while ago.  And it was back!  How could that be?  Had the writing gremlins decided it was better with the edited material reinserted?

I was severely miffed. Brow furrowed deep and long.  I stopped my edits and contacted my editor/agent and said, "Baby, could you please send me the latest version of the novel you have," after which she replied, "Who is this? What are you talking about, you strange, strange man?"  Checking the email, I had somehow picked the AlternaWorld version of my agent/editor which, no, she's not the same over there, instead she's a B-movie Scream Queen and stellar letter turner on their version of Wheel of Fortune so, then, well, resending to my editor/agent, she sent me my copy and, damnit, it was the same!

Had I somehow done all this work before and not saved it?  Was I just imagining having done it? Can I have an H, dear? Followed by an O.L.Y. S.H. I don't even know where I'm going with this so, anyway, yes, that explains the busywork and my not being around.  That and the long Thanksgiving four-day weekend, which really doesn't get in my way, but one finds oneself distracted at the very least. 

It's Tuesday night as I type this.  I'll post it Wednesday when I finish it and get some art for the post. 

Ah, but one more thing. 

The agent/editor informed me of specs about other cool stuff.  Yes, for those of you who have been asking, the print version of my collection, The Dark is Light Enough for Me, currently available as an ebook at Amazon, B&N, and OmniLit, is in the works and getting close.  Yes, she actually asked me for an author photo.  I had no professional studio shots, just some random shots of me.  She said, "No shots of you looking like you're in the Mafia."  Actually, she really did say this.  I sent two, she wasn't sure.  So I sent four more.  She will use one of those, but I have no idea which one.  But it let me know that, yes...The Print Version is Very Close, Perhaps ThisClose, to being released.

Are you ready?

Well, I am.  I want every version! I want them all! It's imperative for Wor(l)d Domination! Mwhahahahahahha...[cough, cough]. Okay, enough of this nonesense. Next time, well, leaning toward more AlternaWorld excursions, but there's also the possibility of other publishing news that might happen any second now so...well, don't hold your breath, even if blue looks good on you, but yeah, see ya soon!

So, this here picture has nothing to do with anything.  Just some of my, um, Italian friends.  What?  Oh, no, nothing to do with the Mafia.  These fellas, goodfellas most of them, they wouldn't know anything about Mafia.  No way. Ahem.

;-)

Have you read these? The Dark...breathes...

Just thought I'd drop in amidst the Thanksgiving/Black Friday madness to touch base and pass on some of the Amazon and Goodreads reviews for my debut collection, The Dark is Light Enough for Me. 

A handful: 

"I can't say how much I loved this book but I will try.
This is a very talented author.The stories were frightening and lyrical.Prose like this takes a lot of effort and this writer has it down pat.
The stories are also very literary reminding me a little of Ligotti but with more dialogue.
This is a wonderful collection that I am sure that I am going to read again and again."

"This is certainly not the average horror short story collection. These tales are imbued with a dark flood of images and written in a beautifully terse prose. They all bear a close relation to life, but their twists and turns are like concentrated dynamite. Get yourself a copy and plunge into darkness!"

"Dark is Light enough for me is an over the top write, a selection of stories that addresses the most inner desires, misses in life, and guilt feelings associated and spiced with a vivid imagination of the author. The stories are thrilling and endorphin rising. You will never stop anticipating :-)"

"I really enjoyed this dark journey--probably one of the best short-story collection I've read in years. The way Mr. Smith twists his plot is on the same par with early Steven King. Amazing darkness here." 

;-)

And this one from Goodreads:

"A perfect read for those who like an eerily wonderful exploration of the illusion of reality and the surreal nature of life as we think we know it. A new favorite author--he consistently delivers!"

Lovely!

So, a good start, eh?  I appreciate all the kind words from these people, posting them here for the blog readers who've yet to make it to the page or pick up a copy.  Well, don't these reactions inspire you to give it a go?  I would think so, heck, it would inspire me, hehe...

Anyway, the book is available via Amazon worldwide, Barnes & Noble, and OmniLit.

 

Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Light-Enough-Me-ebook/dp/B0065M28L6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320955068&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Light-Enough-Me-ebook/dp/B0065M28L6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320955068&sr=8-1

Amazon.co.uk
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Light-Enough-Me-ebook/dp/B0065M28L6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320958608&sr=8-1

Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1107159029?ean=2940013567245&itm=1&usri=the%252bdark%252bis%252blight%252benough%252bfor%252bme

OmniLit:

http://www.omnilit.com/product-thedarkislightenoughforme-638242-238.html

Amazon Germany:

http://www.amazon.de/Dark-Light-Enough-Me-ebook/dp/B0065M28L6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321156971&sr=8-1

Amazon France:

http://www.amazon.fr/Dark-Light-Enough-Me-ebook/dp/B0065M28L6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321231116&sr=8-1


Please join the others in exploring my Darkness...

Thanks for your time.  I expect to be back in the AlternaWorld with the next post. I wonder who we'll run into then...hmmm...

Perhaps the print version, hopefully out in early December, will come in a special version like this, etched designs and a lock and...no, I think not, but it is coming and I can't wait, either.  This book is a Necronomicon put together by Richard A. Poppe, and rather intense, eh?  But I'm sure it would cost you an arm and a leg and perhaps your soul.  I'm sure mine won't cost that much...
;-)
  

Jimi Hendrix says "The Dark..." is Groovy, man!

I've decided this time to trek over to the AlternaWorld myself, to find out for real what is up with my book.  To find out more about the wide-spread reach of my collection. Reports from Jupiter and the Ice Worlds out near Aldebaran, as well as The Bronx (?) of its existence Out Beyond really got me hyped, but what of the worlds that run right alongside ours?  What of the Other Dimensions?  Yeah, well...this time, I thought it best to slide into the interstellar slipstream via the Videodrome transport station in my computer screen myself and--what ?  Oh, you've got it, too!  We all do. It's just...let's put it this way.  With the first step being "thoroughly oil your naked body," most interstellar slipstream travellers never make it out of their bedrooms, computer rooms and such, distracted by the process and, er...you might get my drift, but if not, well...think on it and get back to me the second Tuesday of next week. 

Anyway...

Anyway, after doing that and not being distracted to exhaustion, ahem...press in sequence, Delete - Home - Esc - 2 - Alt - then pick the code of the AlternaWorld, or whichever dimension you want to explore...and step through the screen.

So...

Now that I am here, a bit disorientated from the trip and being spat out like a hairball on the hard metallic road, I am immediately inundated with loud music adorned in raspy curls of feedback, and vocals that sound familiar.  I shake my still wobbly head until focus is gained and I see to my left a tall man with an even taller afro and dressed in wild, tie-dyed colors bashing away on a flaming guitar that doesn't seem to be burning his fingers at all.

Then the words hit me, the end of a familiar song, but not so familiar any more.  Different lyrics.


"The traffic lights they turn black tomorrow
And shine their emptiness into my dreams
Strange words float in my tattered subconsciousness
‘Cause the dark imagination tears at the seams
And the dark is light enough for me

Will the wind ever remember
The tales it has read in the past
With his nightmare stallions snorting gaily
It whispers yes, gleefully, they'll last
Because the dark is light enough for me

Bring on the darkness..."

I am stunned.  "The Wind Cries Mary" lyrics twisted to fit my book, an homage forged in a haunting, feedback-swathed melody.  I applaud loudly as I approach none other than Jimi Hendrix, creator of this mad mash-up, playing for spare change on this metallic street. 

He turns to meet my applause and says, "John Claude Smith?"

At which point, with no author photo on my book--heck, it's not out in print on Earth for a few more weeks--and not even sure of internet access out here, I wonder how he knows who I am.

"Why, yes, Jimi.  That was fantastic!"  I am still in awe, but need some answers, such as:  "How do you know who I am?"

He laughs, guffows tumbling as the guitar still whispers and wheezes, feedback lurking between the shuffling people and strange buildings and even Biblioteca de Borges y Café en el Borde de Eternidad (Borges Library & Café at the Edge of Eternity), where my sources had the conversation with Salvador Dali about my book. 

"It's your aura, man.  No other resonates with quite the same dark aura."

I don't know how to take this, but continue my, er...research.  

"You've obviously read my book.  How did you get a copy...out here?"

"Out here? Way out here, you mean." More laughter as he lightly strums, "Purple Haze." "It was handed to me by the flowers.  The words poured upon me as rain.  I opened my inner eye and it crawled in and shook up my soul.  It was beautiful."

"Beautiful?  My book is beautiful?"


"Perhaps beautiful ain't the right word.  It was groovy, man." Then he paused, that hiccuping strum before singing, "Excuse me, while I kiss the sky," and turned toward the heavens above, puckered his lips, and like mist be floated upward, becoming one with the rainbow colored clouds, saying again, "Groovy, man," and...gone.

Completely discombobulated and uncertain of what I had just witnessed, I wander on to see whatever or whomever is next.  I need to know more, and all Jimi did was confound everything, no real answers, all riddles.  

Of course, I can't complain since the book is out here in the AlternaWorld, but still...How has this happened?

***  

Curiouser and curiouser. 

If you are interested in the book Salvador Dali says is like, "Dark Chocolate for the Mind," and Jimi Hendrix has called, "Groovy, man," well...you can find The Dark is Light Enough for Me at Amazon.com, as well as Amazon in the UK, France and Germany, Barnes & Noble, and OmniLit.
Here's the Amazon.com link for easy access.

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Light-Enough-Me-ebook/dp/B0065M28L6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320955068&sr=8-1

 This surreal painting by Mark Ryden captures EXACTLY the Jimi Hendrix I met on the AlternaWorld.  Really!
Enjoy!

A Conversation with Salvador Dali...?!

My Other Realm sources--those who travel between worlds and dimensions--have informed me that Salvador Dali, The Master of the Surreal, now existing in the AlternaWorld, has gotten a hold of my collection, The Dark is Light Enough for Me.  How he got a copy is beyond me.  I didn't even know it was distributed Out There.  Over There?  Well, wherever the AlternaWorld is...  Nonetheless, I was given this transcript of a conversation from one of my sources as he spotted Dali thumbing through the pages of my book as he sat in the Biblioteca de Borges y Café en el Borde de Eternidad (Borges Library & Café at the Edge of Eternity), sipping Cthulhu Crushes with his pet anteater, Morrison, at his side. 

My Other Realm Source: Mr. Dali. I see you've got a copy of John Claude Smith's debut collection, The Dark is Light Enough for Me. 

Salvador Dali: What are you speaking of, young man?

MORS: The book in your hands.  [pointing to Dali's white-gloved hands]

Dali: Ah, yes. Dali's hands. Participants in the greatest artistic achievements man has ever witnessed.

MORS: Well, yeah...sure. So, have you read the stories yet?

Dali: Dali has not simply read them.  Dali has absorbed them. Dali is filled with the wonderful words.

MORS: So...did you enjoy the stories?

Dali: Delightful and nutritious. Like dark chocolate for the mind. Could have used more dashes and semi-colons as they are particularly tasty. But Dali's tongue dances freely at the words it has dined on.

MORS: [confused] So, does this mean you...would give the book a thumbs up review?

Dali: [adamant] Dali raises all thumbs and fingers in favor of more words from this Mr. John Claude Smith.

MORS: [talking directly to me in his hand held recorder] So, there you have it, our first Ten Star review, one for every finger and thumb.

Dali: Dali asks, who are you speaking to of this ten star review, young man?

MORS: I am taping this conversation for John Claude Smith. I thought he might be--

Dali: [snags the recorder from MORS hand] Dali knows strange, John Claude. Dali knows and lives strange. Your words are strange. But they taste good and Dali demands more! Do you understand?  Dali demands more! [hands recorder back to MORS]

MORS: [backing away, the company of this madman too much for him] Um...yeah.  I'm sure John Claude will appreciate the kind words. [shakes head; pauses; wonders how Dali got a print version of the book before it's officially out in print] By the way, one last question.  How did you get a print version?  It's not released in print for a few more weeks. 

Dali:  My girlfriend, who will remain Nameless, got me a copy.

MORS: [pushing for specifics] C'mon, give me a name, Dali. It'll be our little secret.

Dali: [suspiciously] I told you. Her name is Nameless. She is and will remain Nameless.

MORS: Okaaaaay...

Dali: And here she comes now. Nameless, darling...

A woman walks up.  She has no eyes, is wrapped in a gauzy material, and is wearing long black gloves.  She extends her right hand to Dali.  He bows and kisses the back of her black-gloved hand, turns it over and winks at the eye in her palm.  It winks back.  She raises both hands to her face, palms out, and winks at MORS.  MORS, rather stunned at seeing the cover model for John Claude's book in the flesh, makes a hasty exit, transmits this information to me via the shadow internet, and disappears into a multi-mirrored aisle in  Biblioteca de Borges y Café en el Borde de Eternidad, never to be seen again.  Well, okay, his image is repeated over and over and over, but he, himself, y'know...is never seen again...

So there you have it, my first AlternaWorld Ten Star review!  Er...yeah!  Okaaaaaaaaaaaaay, as MORS would say.  Ahem.

Don't you think you would enjoy The Dark is Light Enough for Me, too?  I mean...Dali would insist you check it out [available at Amazon worldwide, Barnes & Noble andOmniLit, with more sellers on the way] as it's a nutritious treat for your tongue...as well as dark chocolate for your mind. 

What? Oh, yes, this IS the way my brain works. 

Here's Dali and his pet anteater, Morrison, going for a stroll. 

Enjoy!

  





  

Updates, Hadrian's Villa, The Dark...

Completely winging it this time, no firm grasp of where I am going, but let's see.  Yeah, okay, take my hand, it won't hurt...

Now that The Dark is Light Enough for Me is out--have you bought your copy yet? Have you at least checked the Amazon, B&N and OmniLit pages and "like"d it there? What? Sure, a bigger sample: go to Amazon.com and there's the Look Inside feature.  There you have the Whole First Story, "Black Wings," a tempting teaser, with the beginning section of the second story, the title story, which is a really tempting teaser.  Check em out, buy the book, and realize I never knew I had to be such a promotion whore but...it's kind of fun and, anyway, where were we?--it's time for me to remember it's not the only writing I have...as well as I need to lock in with the writing at hand.

There's so much more in progress.

What? Oh, yeah, that was probably the most ridiculously long dash-to-dash aside I've ever written.  Like I said, winging it...

How about a recap, which kind of serves as a reminder to myself of what I need to work on for, well, let's say the rest of the year.

First of all, while in Rome for three months, I spent about 6-7 weeks of that time writing the first draft of a novel.  Now, when I got there, I had another novel I was beginning to work on, but that one needs more research, which was how I expected to spend the time.  So, walking through Hadrian's Villa amidst the amazing architecture--then again, what architecture isn't amazing in Rome?--something struck me that had nothing to do with the visual beauty.  Something was making itself known to me aurally: the cicadas. What a symphony, dissonant and all-enveloping,  chittering unmercifully.  Many would have been annoyed.  Me, no no no.  I love sound, have said it numerous times here.  What they did, this insect din, was inspire me. 

I started taking notes, something was in motion.  I met the characters, then had them altered by offhand conversations, one of the writer's best modes of creativity: listening to the world with our mind's wide open.  Anyway, a first draft was written, some of it almost fully formed, some of it in need of much work, some hole to fill in as well.  About 51,000 words.  I expect another few thousand on the way, heck, it will probably end up being about the same length as my first two novels, right in the 60,000 word range. 

It's tentatively called, "The Mantra of Metamorphosis." 

All because of a stroll through Roman history and our sonic accompaniment.  All so unexpected, yet now, knowing the first draft and knowing where it should end up, it was a gift.  A welcomed gift, the muse was generous.
Besides that, I have at least one shorter piece, a long short story or a novelette, that I need to finish, with a specific market in mind.  A weird fiction piece called, "The Alternative Translation."  A truly devious and, again, weird piece of work.  This one makes me smile like a mad scientist every time I get back to it.   

There's also poetry.  That's what I have messed with today.  Wrote this one Bukowski-esque one while on vacation in Torre Alfina, north of Rome--yes, being anywhere in Italy with the woman I love is quite inspiring--so today typed it up, tweaked and shaped it and sent it off asap to meet a deadline, which different time zones may have nullified, but it was good to just do it and get it done.  Now.  Worked a couple more into shape, too. 

Yeah, it's what I do, this writing gig.


And most of all, please check out the new collection, this time not mentioned as an aside, but headlining its own paragraph. The Dark is Light Enough for Me. There's even two five-star reviews on Amazon.com so far--thanks to those readers!  Twelve stories, 67,000 words, $3.99, that's about 33 cents per story, man, what a deal!

;-)

So, there's the brief recap and I didn't even note the next story to be published, in Grave Demand magazine. I'll save that for next time.  For now, here's a shot Alessandra took of Antinous' head floating in the pool (Canopus), at Hadrian's Villa.  Rather surreal, most intriguing.


Enjoy!

Intermission: A Flash Fiction Piece, Then Back to Our Regularly Schedule New Release Promotion-type Stuff!

I was reminded of this story earlier while on FB, in a thread about werewolves and such.  This story relates, and has my all-time favorite joke incorporated into it!  And, yes, it is a tasteless joke, but an amusing one as well.  Very black humor

So, here, take a gander at "Laughter."

Enjoy!

***

Laughter

By John Claude Smith

  

     Laughter is the best medicine, thought Carl.  And he desperately needed a dosage of giggles and guffaws about now.  It’s the only thing that deterred the desire to kill. 

     Well, most of the time.

     He entered the ironically titled Laughing Hyena Comedy Club seeking to suppress what his body ached to become, shuffling to a stool shrouded in darkness at the back of said club.  Looking to the stage, he listened to the fidgety comedian. 

     “So my wife, um…she got pregnant—”

     “No fault of yours, eh?” 

     Carl glared at the heckler.  He hated hecklers.  They were never funny.  And Carl needed funny right now.  He needed to laugh.  He couldn’t help himself, the acid roiling in his belly like a tsunami trapped in a water balloon: “Shut up!”

          Everybody gazed into the darkness at the back of the club; the darkness disallowed their perusal.  The heckler waved his hand, a mocking hello.  Carl ignored him. 

     Undeterred, the comedian continued: “Yeah, it w-was my fault.  Anyway, when she had the baby there were…complications.”

     Carl felt it in his bones, felt it scratching under his skin…

     “So, um…m-my wife asks, ‘Can I see my baby?’ and the doctor says, ‘Yes,’ and leads her into a room where there’s a baby on a bed with no arms and no legs…and she asks, ‘Is that my baby?’ and the doctor says, ‘No,’ and she says, ‘Oh, what could be worse?’”

     The heckler peered pensively into the darkness, itchy to respond.

     “So they go into the n-next room and there’s a head on a pillow, and she asks, ‘Is that my baby?’ and the doctor says, ‘No,’ and she says, ‘Oh, w-what could be worse?’”

     Carl felt it rising in him.  He liked sick and twisted humor.  But he needed the comedian to get to the punch line quicker.  He felt himself changing, his snout elongating, and the pin-pricking rash of bristly hairs pushing through his skin, shredding his clothes.

     “So, um…yeah…they go into the next room and there’s an eye on a p-pillow, and my wife asks, ‘Is that my baby?’ and the doctor says, ‘Yes,’ and she says, ‘Oh what could be worse?’ and he says--"

      The heckler blurted through his invisible muzzle: “He says, ‘I suggest you name him Cyclops because—’” 

     Carl pounced on the heckler, tearing out his belly, pressing powerful forelegs into the man’s chest while his short hind legs sat clumsily on the man’s lap.  The abrupt attack nailed everybody to their seats.  The comedian’s face went white. 

     Carl turned, snout moist and dripping red, and said, “Punch line.”

     The comedian stammered illegibly. 

     “Now!” barked Carl.

     “And the doctor s-says, ‘It’s blind.’”

     Carl emitted a growling hiccup of joy, of laughter; everybody joined in.  The comedian smiled. 

     Naked and satiated, Carl sprinted out the exit as his transformation from laughing hyena back into man had commenced, derailing the desire to kill…for now.       

     After all, laughter is the best medicine.   

*** 

There, that's just a tiny snippet of my writing.  Want more? The bigger chunks get deeper, darker...more perverse and weird.  You can find some in my collection, The Dark is...er...yeah, you probably know.  Check around the blog, it's obvious. 

You still laughing at the flash fiction or just shaking your head?

;-)

"Charging Werehyena" by Cara Mitten.  Cool stuff, I'm sure Carl can relate...

          

We've Only Just Begun Playing In The Dark...

This one's off the cuff, just me riffing.  Hang on...

So, the book is out!  As of 11-11-11, as I have been saying all along, my book, The Dark is Light Enough for Me, is out. 

Did you buy your copy yet?  Well, let's hop to it (please; yes, I understand proper manners, please and thank you, actually).
;-)

And for those of you who have bought it, I sincerely thank you!  I hope you enjoy the frolic through my weird and warped mind.  

Good stuff to do: review it, "like" it on the sellers pages--you know, Amazon and B&N and OmniLit, with more to come--love it, question my sanity, yeah, the whole deal.

But if you think in 2011 that's it, well...No.
Absolutely not!

Spreading the word and promoting sales is part of a writer's life.  What?  You thought we only wrote our books and let The Universe deal with sales?  The times they are a changin'...er, wait! The Times Have Already Changed.  Expecially for a writer getting his first book out there.

So, yes, I will be running around online, looking to talk to anybody about it--bloggers and horror sites and whoever, wherever; I am ready for interviews, guest blogs, whatever it takes to promote a book I am proud of.  I'm sure we'll work out giveaways and more.  I mentioned reviews up there, well, if you are a magazine reviewer, show me what you got, and please contact me via my email; actually interview folks and mags can do the same.
 jcsmith0919@yahoo.com

See, I told you I was riffing.  I hope this makes sense.  Primarily, it's just me saying, there's a lot more to do! HELP! 

But, the main thing amidst all of this--being consistent in promoting it without being annoying--is that I actually feel like I can get back to some real writing again.

Real writing--what's that?

Well, I have the second draft of my third novel to dig into--my agent is shopping around the first two--a short story I am shaping for a specific magazine, plus a few more besides that.  Poetry, lovely poetry.  And even research and what-not for the novel that follows the one in progress.

So, if you were wondering, yes, being a writer is not simply about writing.  But that's ultimately what it comes down to in the long run.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled internet surfing; or, for those into the Dark Stuff, go ahead, get back to reading the collection.

;-)

This is what happens when you tell your brother your book is out and he says, oh, and I found your blog, too, but what's with the weird picture.  Yeah, thanks a lot, bro...